"Transportation in rural Jamaica is not a simple matter. On some routes the taxis are few and far between or they are all 'robots' (illegal) taxis so they don't run when cops are out on the road, which happens in spurts. Taxis don't just transport people, they often transport goods as well. Say you are in a main town, and want to send some medicine to your mom who lives in a small community, then you would buy the meds and bring them to a taxi that runs into your mom's area for him to deliver for you. For this service you pay at least what you would pay to transport yourself. The benefit is you don't have to pay to go there and come back."

Transportation in rural Jamaica is not a simple matter. On some routes the taxis are few and far between or they are all 'robots' (illegal) taxis so they don't run when cops are out on the road, which happens in spurts. Taxis don't just transport people, they often transport goods as well. Say you are in a main town, and want to send some medicine to your mom who lives in a small community, then you would buy the meds and bring them to a taxi that runs into your mom's area for him to deliver for you. For this service you pay at least what you would pay to transport yourself. The benefit is you don't have to pay to go there and come back.

Given all this, taximen have access to the majority of people in the community, including young women and children. It's a common joke here that a taximan has pickney in every district along his route. But it's not really a joke, as many of them do.

This morning I was running a little late, so when I saw a taxi coming up towards my district I rushed to the road to get in. He picked me up but said he had to 'drop something' before going to Santa Cruz. Cool, whatever. He puts the bag to be dropped in my lap, and I sneaked a peak. It contains juice, formula and pampers. It's a baby mama bag.

He picks up a old lady next, but she needs to stop at the post office before leaving town to pick up her pension check. Next is a young man who needs us to go into his yard so he can get a bag. All this time we are traveling in the opposite direction of where I'm trying to get to. Two last passengers are picked up and at last we start down the mountain, smalled up 4 adults plus a baby in the backseat.

The driver stops about a quarter of the way to Santa Cruz, to 'drop' something. A woman with an infant comes out of the house, but she does not look happy. Her hair is a mess with a comb sticking out of it, her shirt and skirt are tight and dirty and the infant looks positively sticky. She starts to yell at him about how long it took, baby nah have no pampas, nah have no feedin, how come yah nah send no cash money fi 'im, etc. A fight ensues and the taximan throws the bag in a rainpuddle then turns and walks away.

All of us in the taxi pretend like nothing happened. Like a man screaming at the mother of his child and throwing away the things for the child in front of the screeching infant is a normal occurrence. Perhaps that's the problem, it is normal.

Being a mother in Jamaica tends to be a humiliating experience. As men make women pregnant but are often with a next woman by the time the baby is born, the baby's mother has to beg and bargain with additional sex to get the things required to care for her baby. With such a high unemployment rate, many women will sleep with taximen because they think, 'at least this one has money for the pickney'. Taximen often have many women, and babies, without caring for them all, or just providing free transportation.

I'm not saying all taximen are like this, there are some very nice people out there, but I've known a number of them that leave much to be desired in the ethics department. That said, I've learned here that what American's consider sexually ethical isn't universal (obviously) and that society can function with a marriage rate of 20% or less. All of this is often juxtaposed on top of people being 'Christian', a term which has become more ambiguous in my mind since arriving here. I know for a fact that the taximan in reference is a 'Christian', he goes to church with some of my co-workers. I also know that wasn't the only baby mama bag he had to drop off today.

Ron Tschetter in Morocco and JordanOn his first official trip since being confirmed as Peace Corps Director, Ron Tschetter (shown at left with PCV Tia Tucker) is on a ten day trip to Morocco and Jordan. Traveling with his wife (Both are RPCVs.), Tschetter met with volunteers in Morocco working in environment, youth development, health, and small business development. He began his trip to Jordan by meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and discussed expanding the program there in the near future.

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical ClearanceThe purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" againThe LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100%Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

Read the stories and leave your comments.

Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Personal Web Site

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Jamaica; Blogs - Jamaica

PCOL3523340

Add a Message

This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.